The sensory experiences of autistic people: A metasynthesis.

Jordan and the team read 42 qualitative papers about how autistic people feel, see, hear, and touch.

They pulled out common themes and wrote one big picture of sensory life.

All studies used first-person reports from autistic teens and adults.

Sensory events are never just lights or sounds. They come bundled with emotions, body feelings, and who is around.

One example: a supermarket buzz feels painful, scary, and lonely all at once.

The four parts—physical, emotional, relational, social—melt together and cannot be split.

Gandhi et al. (2022) show high stress knocks down daily living skills in autistic adults. Jordan’s model says stress is baked into sensory moments, so easing the moment may protect skills.

Hamama et al. (2021) found autistic adults reject phone calls because the sound is overwhelming. Jordan gives the reason: the sound is not just loud—it carries social threat and emotion at the same time.

Adams et al. (2025) and Reyes et al. (2019) report caregiver burden lowers family quality of life. Jordan’s relational lens says the caregiver is feeling the same sensory-emotional swirl, just from the other side.

Together the papers say: treat the whole scene—stimulus, feeling, and people—or nothing sticks.

Stop writing goals like “tolerate noise for 5 min.” Write “choose headphones, ask for break, and stay in chat with peer.” Check all four boxes—body, heart, friend, place—when you plan interventions, train staff, or pick community outings.